Lafayette Square Appoints Don Baylor as Managing Director of Services

New York, February 4, 2021 – Lafayette Square, an impact-driven, minority-owned investment platform, announced today that Don Baylor Jr. has been appointed Managing Director of Services. Mr. Baylor joins from The Annie E. Casey Foundation and will lead Lafayette Square's efforts to develop targeted and impactful services that accompany the firm's investments and support economic opportunity in areas of housing, jobs, and financial inclusion.

Mr. Baylor's role will complement Lafayette Square's unique model that combines capital and services to advance affordable housing residents' health and livelihood, support small businesses, and improve employee work conditions.  

"We're thrilled to have Don join our team to spearhead efforts to build and deliver value-added human services which, when combined with our capital, can make a lasting difference," said Damien Dwin, Founder & CEO of Lafayette Square. "The communities we're focused on have historically been shortchanged on both capital and the human services that allow people to benefit from that capital, and Don will help us change that."

"I’m excited to work with Damien and the Lafayette Square team and contribute my expertise in helping build community financial resilience and improving the opportunities available to families,” said Mr. Baylor. “We have a shared understanding that capital by itself is necessary but insufficient. To make an impact, data-driven services are needed to advance wealth and well-being in underserved communities.”

Mr. Baylor has over two decades of experience that spans philanthropy, education, consumer finance, public policy, and community development. Before joining Lafayette Square, he served as a Senior Program Officer at The Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he oversaw the Foundation's family financial services, asset building portfolio, and racial wealth gap strategies. Previously, he was a Senior Associate with the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., where he focused on expanding economic opportunity through JPMorgan Chase, Citi, McArthur, and Gates Foundation projects across the US. As the state’s economic mobility expert, he founded Opportunity Texas, a joint project at Every Texan, served as a legislative and political director at New York ACORN, and a senior consultant at KPMG's State and Local Government Practice.  

Mr. Baylor holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently serves as immediate past co-chair of the Asset Funders Network Board of Directors and serves on the boards of SaverLife and Equal Measure. Also, he was a longtime board member of Prosperity Now, and a founding member for RAISE Texas, the Texas Match the Promise Foundation, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Advisory Board.

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About Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square Holding Company, LLC (“Lafayette Square” or the “Firm”) is an impact-driven, minority-owned investment platform. Founded by Damien Dwin in 2020, the Firm confronts critical societal challenges with capital and services in three core areas: housing, jobs, and financial inclusion. For more information about Lafayette Square, please visit lafayettesquare.com

Media Contact:
Shree Dhond/Zach Kouwe
Dukas Linden Public Relations
646-722-6531
lafayettesquare@dlpr.com